


Once Is Happenstance

by Lapin



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: First Meetings, First Time, M/M, Revolution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-28
Updated: 2012-07-28
Packaged: 2017-11-10 21:30:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/470903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapin/pseuds/Lapin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Lieutenant wasn't always the Lieutenant. Amon wasn't always Amon. Neither are they who they were born as. Who were they, in the in-between?</p>
<p>Twenty years ago, the Lieutenant ducks into an open window, and puts his hand over the occupant's mouth. <em>"I just need you to be quiet, for like, a second, okay?"</em> Those grey eyes will be the death of him, one day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once Is Happenstance

**Author's Note:**

> A/N I have problems with Lieutenant's characterization sometimes. Namely, there is not enough crazy. That guy? Is crazy. He is mental. There needs to be more crazy!bastard Lieutenant. There just does, okay? There needs to be more him being a reckless, sly, weirdo who thinks jumping off a cliff to attack a polar bear dog is a sensible plan of attack.
> 
> Disclaimer: _Avatar: The Legend of Korra_ is owned by Nickelodeon Studios, and I express no affiliation with them.

The first time they met, it was happenstance. The window was open, the fire escape was easy to climb, and he needed to be anywhere but the street he was on, so in he went.

The occupant of the apartment was less matter-of-fact than he was. In fact, he seemed downright upset. So he put a gloved hand over his mouth and sat on him. 

“I just need you to be quiet, for like, a second, okay?” He asked, as indignant grey eyes narrowed at him. “Seriously, just two seconds, at most, okay? So I'm going to take my hand away, and you're not going to scream, are you? I'm assuming you're not a bender, or you'd have kicked my ass already, so let me just warn you, the kali sticks on my back? I was a prodigy at ten. Don't test me.” 

He took his hand away. 

Grey-Eyes raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Are you going to get off me?” 

“How can I trust you won't run for the cops?” He asked, conversationally. “Nah, you and me, we're just going to sit here and get to know each other for a moment.” 

Grey-Eyes rolled his eyes, and slumped in defeat. “It's been two seconds.”

“Yeah, well, maybe they're a bit more persistent than I thought they'd be.” You chi-block one cop, and they act like you stabbed an orphan. Well, they might care less about the orphan. He wasn't sure. Toph Bei Fong was a strange woman. “Come on, it's not so bad, I could have just stabbed you.” 

“Doubtful.” When he raised an eyebrow in inquiry, Grey-Eyes continued. “You use kali sticks. For one, they're made of wood. It's a little hard to stab someone with wood. For two, kali is used for thrust, not slicing. Even if they were metal, that's a little hard in this particular position.” 

“Aw, you're adorable.” He teased. “Want to test that theory? I'm creative, and I've got a pretty strong thrust.” 

“Did you _mean_ to make that sound sexual?” 

He shrugged. “Can't blame a guy for trying.”

“You broke into my house!”

“You can blame me for that, yes.” There was silence outside, so without further ado, he was off the man and on the window sill. “Thanks for the help. See you around.” 

“I wait with bated breath.” 

Down to the street, hood off, goggles in his pocket, coat from his bag on, and hey, no one was the wiser. 

-

The second time was just a coincidence. He was just in the same neighborhood, and the guy had shut his window, but he hadn't locked it, so in he went again. 

“Are you kidding me.” It wasn't even a question, as he grinned at his host. Grey-Eyes was sitting at the table, flipping through a newspaper, a bowl of something in front of him. Something that smelled good. His stomach rumbled unhelpfully. “This cannot be my life.” 

“Is there anymore of that?” 

“I'm not feeding you, you intruder.” 

“You must be new around here. An unlocked window is as good as an invitation in this city, especially in this neighborhood.” He scoffed. “Where are you from, the North Pole?”

“What gave it away, the clothes, or that I'm Water Tribe?” 

Actually, that had been sarcasm, which he was pretty sure the guy knew, but then he'd gone and answered with more sarcasm, so now he wasn't sure if the guy thought he was stupid, or something. He was really hungry, actually. And concerned, because, well, Triads. He closed the shutters.

“So, since you seem to know so much about the proper way of doing things in this city, is it proper etiquette for a hostage to ask exactly why they've been captured?” 

He shrugged. “I'll tell you if I can eat.” 

Grey-Eyes rolled his eyes, sighed, and pushed the bowl across the small table, to the one other chair. His own long legs tangled with the other man's when he sat down, through no fault of his own, but he figured it was just better insurance. He could think of at least two ways to lock the guy in place like this. Well, he could think of them after he ate. 

“Well?” The man raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh, yeah, I'm a thief.” He answered, before slurping up some more noodles. Seaweed noodles, he realized, like his mother had made when he was a kid. Could he have gotten any luckier? 

The man actually sputtered on his tea. “Now I know you're just screwing with me.” 

Triumphantly, he produced his bamboo tube with the rolled up schematics within. “Corporate espionage.” He explained. “I sneak in, take a few plans, bring them to the competitor, and hey, while I'm there, I take a peek at their stuff too.” 

Grey-Eyes actually seemed stunned. “This conversation cannot be happening.” 

He shrugged. “Hey, man's got to do what a man's got to do, and I've got to eat.” He scowled, his jovial attitude dispersing at the memories. “I _was_ an engineer. Seems like everyone's more interested in making sure they've got a bender though, even if they don't know what the fuck they're doing.” He tried to make it sound funny, but the bitterness crept in, because damn it, he had been good. Talented. 

Now Grey-Eyes actually seemed interested in him, leaning back in his chair, though, he was quick to note, he made no effort to disentangle his legs either. “Even here, bending is treated like a toy.” 

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. “Haven't been here long, have you?”

“It was my second night, when you broke in.” 

“I didn't break in, your window was open.” He corrected, finishing the salty broth with relish. “Get a better lock, by the way. Standard locks are useless.” 

“I'll keep that in mind.” He replied, completely deadpan.

It seemed all quiet outside, so he stood, and headed to the window. “I have a door, you know,” was all he heard before he slid out, back on to the fire escape, and up to the rooftop. No change of clothes this time, so he'd have to move fast. 

-

The third time was when he was quite literally under enemy fire. Fucking firebenders. 

He ducked down into a doorway, quickly changing clothes, before they caught up with him. Mask, hood, the piece he'd been smart enough to wear over his mouth, all of it got stuffed into his bag, after he reversed it, so it was bright blue instead of smoky grey. He turned his coat out, letting the hidden pieces fall, so it was longer, looked more like something you'd wear on the street, then slung the bag over his shoulder and started walking casually. 

They were coming, he could hear them, and that was when he spotted him. Grey-Eyes, beside the fruit trays of the grocery store, just standing there, brow furrowed in thought as their eyes met. He'd only seen him with the goggles, but he was quickly putting the pieces together. 

Thinking fast, he grabbed him, and pulled him into the space between the two shops, what could generously be called an alley, and pushed him to the wall, hand over his mouth. 

Grey-Eyes face went from confused, to stunned, to annoyed resignation. 

“Fancy meeting you here,” He said, and there was that eye roll again. “Want to help a guy out? Non-bender to non-bender?” He took his hand away hopefully. 

“I'm guessing the fireworks are for you.” 

“I knew you were clever.” 

Then he kissed him. See, the thing was, it was an old trick, but it was an old trick because it _always worked_. No one ever paid attention to the people necking in the alley, because in a neighborhood like this, it was just part of the scenery. And indeed, sometime between when Grey-Eyes started clutching at his jacket, his mouth opening up to him like the best little actor ever, and when he kind of forgot this was a cover and started seriously kissing the man, his pursuers ran by. 

Best to give himself some breathing room anyway, he rationalized, pushing Grey-Eyes a little harder into the bricks, and then Grey-Eyes went and sighed against his mouth, and well, it wasn't like he was used to having rational thoughts anyway. Best to not get used to them. 

“Hey,” He said, letting up for just a second. “What's your name, anyway?” 

He thought he was being mannerly, but apparently he just brought the guy back around to thinking with the brain in his head, because he grimaced, and pushed him away. “Get off me, you degenerate.” He wasn't very good at the pushing him away thing. Making a living scaling rooftops and fighting off security guards really built up the muscle, and this guy just didn't measure up. 

“Why do you have to name-call?” He asked, pretending at disappointment. He thought the grin might do the tone a disservice, but whatever. He had stopped playing at caring about, oh, five years ago. “It's downright rude. You don't even know me. For all you know, I'm a saint.” 

“Are you forgetting how we met? Are you forgetting you just yanked me-”

“I didn't yank.” He grumbled. He had been quite nice about it, he thought.

“-Into an alley, just to use me for a distraction?” 

“If it helps, I'd kiss you without an ulterior motive.” He offered. “Unless getting into your pants is an ulterior motive, because then, yeah, I'd have an ulterior motive.” 

Grey-Eyes gave him a cool look. “I'd rather kiss a polar bear dog.”

“Well, see, now you're just trying to be hurtful.” He released him though, and the guy shoved him away from him with a touch more indignation than necessary. He grinned. Someone was in denial. “You like me.”

“I like viper bats too. Don't feel special.” 

He had to mull that one over for a minute, as the guy walked away. Viper bats were pretty interesting, in his opinion, so he kind of liked them. But maybe the guy meant that as an unfavorable comparison? But then why would he...?

Wait a minute, he still had to get these plans back to Sato. He'd deal with this later.

-

The fourth time, well, after the fourth time, he stopped counting, or lost count, whatever. Not important. 

What was important was that he was injured, and the closest place was Grey-Eyes, and no, this was actually a logical thought. No matter what front he put on, he knew who he really was, and who he really was was a shrewd man who knew how to find port in a storm. 

He still hadn't learned to lock his window. 

This time, he stumbled in a lot less neatly, and Grey-Eyes, standing at the counter that served as a kitchen, knew something was wrong immediately. Like he'd said, the man was smart. 

“You idiot,” He said, rushing past him to shut the window, closing the shutters tight and flipping in place a shining new lock. “What have you done to yourself?”

“Waterbender.” For some reason, that startled the man, but since he was pretty sure his bottom two left ribs were broken, he didn't have time to think about that. “Ribs.” The man helped him get his shirt off, tossing it in the general direction of the table, before sitting him down firmly in the extra chair. 

“Hold still,” He ordered, kneeling beside him. His fingers were cold as they inspected the bruising, and the breaks. “How far did you come?”

“Eight blocks.” His nearest bolthole was another three blocks away. He had never done a job on that side of town, and just his luck, this was the time the waterbenders were on guard duty. 

“You made it across eight blocks like this?” He sounded less awed, and more annoyed with him. “Are you just a complete idiot, or are you suicidal? You could have punctured a lung. How were you even moving through that pain?” 

It had been a long time since someone had lectured him. “I take one foot and put it in front of the other.” He wasn't intending to sound sarcastic, or condescending. That was simply what he did, when he was injured. Keep going. “You have some medical training?”

“A little.” He answered. “Healing is reserved for benders, in my tribe, but I did learn a few things, over the years. My brother and I were injured fairly often, on hunts.” 

“You the older brother?” Certainly explained his new-found protective behavior.

“Yes.” Suddenly, he wasn't so haughty, as he stood to go find whatever he needed. “He's dead.”

He waited, to see if there was more to that story, but he said nothing else, as he found bandages from who knows where. Without being told what to do, he held his arms out as best he could, so Grey-Eyes could wrap him up. He worked methodically, as though he'd done it a hundred times. Maybe he had. 

“I have willow bark, for tea. That should ease some of it until I can get something stronger.”

He waved him off. “I've got stuff at home.”

“It's funny how you think I'm letting you leave.” Grey-Eyes said. “Stay where you are. I want to be able to make sure you're still alive in the morning.” 

“Touching, but I'm good.” 

Grey-Eyes glared at him. “What do I have to do, promise you a meal?”

He saw an opportunity. “That'll do, but throw a kiss in, and you've got a deal.” 

“You're insufferable.” He shook his head, standing and walking towards the kitchen. 

Ignoring the twinge in his side, he followed, and settled his hands on Grey-Eyes' hips. “Just one kiss, and I'll be good.” He promised, right into his ear. “I won't even try to escape while you're sleeping.” 

Grey-Eyes gave him a look, then turned in his arms. “One kiss,” He said, and he had never been one to hesitate. It was how he kept getting hurt, really. In this case though, he was pretty sure it was okay, as he kissed Grey-Eyes. The man responded so well to it too, the way his palms settled on the back of his neck, the way his body slid right against his. They were a good fit too, he thought idly, as he backed him up against the stone counter built into the wall. 

Still ignoring his ribs, he lifted him up onto the thing, keeping his legs spread so he could fit between them. Grey-Eyes wasn't fighting him in the slightest, just kept him close, and damn him, he kept making this panting sound, like he couldn't get enough breath. 

“I said one kiss,” The man managed, when he moved down to his neck, but even if his mouth was protesting, his hands weren't, the way they clutched at his back. “This is not,” Grey-Eyes gasped when he bit down on his collarbone. “This is not one kiss.” 

“You could think of it as extra insurance that I'll stay.”

The hands on his shoulders slid around to his chest, and pushed, a clear sign to stop, so he did. Grey-Eyes was making that face at him again. “Do you always take things too far? Is that how you got hurt?” He shrugged in answer, and ow, okay, that hurt now that he wasn't distracted. “Just go sit down, and don't touch me.” 

He obeyed, smirking, and waited at the table. The willow bark tea did take away some of the sting, but not enough to not make deep breaths painful, so he decided to maybe actually keep his word. 

“For the record, she wasn't actually aiming for my ribs.” He pointed out.

“Oh, and what was she aiming for?”

“My head.” He replied, with a grin. “Turns out she's left-handed, and when I chi-blocked her right arm, she got kind of off.”

“Chi-blocked?” Grey-Eyes sounded curious, and confused. “What is that?”

“Certain pressure points, on benders.” He explained, like his father had explained to him over a dozen years ago. “You hit them, you can block the flow of chi in their body, and they can't bend, at least not until it wears off, and the blood flow comes back. Works pretty well on non-benders too.” 

“Interesting.” Grey-Eyes said, and he had to blink, because there were briefly two of him.

Also, he was tired now. Really tired. 

“You bastard.” He accused, impressed, more than anything else. “You drugged the tea.” 

“Took you long enough.” 

Then the world went kind of fuzzy.

He woke up to sunshine fighting to get through the crack of the shutters. They were ill-fitting, he thought. Probably warped from age, by now. Grey-Eyes needed new ones. 

He wasn't alone in bed. 

He tried to remember the night before, and everything was pretty clear up to the cheating bastard drugging him, so he was pretty sure nothing fun had happened. More likely, it was because there was one bed, and Grey-Eyes trusted he couldn't molest him in his sleep. What little faith he had. Anyway, it wasn't like he could do much anyway, with two busted ribs.

Actually, he thought, as he got out of bed, his ribs felt better. He unwrapped the bandages to check, and though the bruising was still bad, the swelling was down thanks to the willow bark. Now he could feel the injury, and hey, look at that, they weren't broken after all. 

He stepped out into the hall, not caring much about being spotted, and found the floor bathroom, where he relieved himself and got cleaned up. He needed to shave, he observed, feeling his chin, and the vague stubble coming in. 

His stomach grumbled. Right. He hadn't eaten last night, thanks to someone's meddling. 

Walking in through the door was an odd feeling, but odder still was the way Grey-Eyes looked happy to see him. It changed back to irritation so quickly, he wasn't sure what he had seen. “Sit,” He ordered, so he sat, and before long, there was breakfast. With coffee. 

“My ribs aren't broken.” He said, trying to be helpful. 

“I'm aware.” Grey-Eyes muttered, half-asleep still, it looked. He blinked at that though, and quickly added, “I felt them last night, after the swelling had receded enough.”

He grinned at him. “You were feeling me up in my sleep? Why, all you had to do was ask.” He shrugged, and this time, it didn't hurt. “Actually, scratch that, you don't have to ask. Feel free.” 

“Are you ever serious?” Grey-Eyes asked, suddenly quite serious himself. 

He settled back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you want me to be? I'm far less entertaining when I'm serious.” 

“You're just as bad as the rest of them, you know?” Grey-Eyes said. “You think this is a game, that the power you hold means nothing. You could be doing something useful with your skills, and instead, you use it to steal, and then you make jokes about it.” He sounded kind of angry now. “You act like you don't care that you lost your job because they decided they'd rather have an unskilled bender than you, but you do, don't you? That's why you act like this.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Don't tell me why I act the way I act.” 

Grey-Eyes' shoulders slumped in what could have been relief, as something almost triumphant played on his face. “I knew I hadn't imagined it.” He said, before standing, and grabbing a wooden bucket full of toiletries by the door. “I'm going to have a wash. You should still be here when I get back.” It was a warning.

After the door closed, he took the opportunity to explore. Grey-Eyes actually didn't own much. A few clothes, all clearly handmade, some Water Tribe and older, some Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation and newer. How long had he been away from home, he wondered? 

He found a pair of gloves with strange fingers, the thumb and index separated, while the remaining three were grouped together. Judging from the blue and white, it was a Water Tribe thing. The he found a flat white disk, a shell of some kind, hanging on a bit of leather cord. There were waves carved into it, or what he thought must be waves. 

Interesting, he thought, turning it in the light. 

“My mother carved it for me.” 

He didn't startle, or fumble with the thing. He'd heard the door opening.

“That was a short wash.”

“We only get a few minutes of water each.” 

“Too bad you're not a waterbender. They get allowances.” It was just an annoyance stacked on top of a hundred other reasons for why benders in the city were a bunch of privileged bastards, minor enough it barely made him smirk. “Where's your mother? Back at the North Pole?”

“Dead.” Grey-Eyes just had the blue cloth pants on, and the first robe, still untied and hanging. His feet were bare on the scratched floor, a habit he had to have picked up in the Earth Kingdom. He came to stand beside him, and took the object away. “My whole family is dead. A bender took them from me.” 

“But you survived?” 

Grey-Eyes shrugged, as he packed the item away again, with great reverence. “I ran away, actually. There was nothing I could do. He killed them long before I could save them. So I ran away, into the tundra.” 

“Couldn't have been a waterbender, or he'd have followed you, wouldn't he of?” He certainly wasn't going to give the guy grief for running. He got the impression he'd been younger when this happened, and a non-bending kid against an adult bender didn't stand much of a chance. “Couldn't have been an earthbender, up there. So I'm guessing firebender?”

“Guess what you like.” He was pretty sure that meant he was right. “Are you being serious, still?” He turned back to him, his grey eyes dull and sad. He liked them better when they were angry, or frustrated. 

“My dad is a firebender.” He said, because maybe he owed him some story too. “He was a soldier, in the Fire Nation Army. He was one of the peacekeepers, during the problems in Hu Xin.” He trusted Grey-Eyes had heard that sad history, the pocket of Fire Nation Loyalists who had tried to take the whole province captive.

When his eyes widened, he knew he had. “They walked into a trap.” Bending, used as its worst.

“Yeah. Dad survived, but he was pretty badly scarred. He came home, married my mom, and that just made things worse.” He wondered if he should tell Grey-Eyes, but he was pretty sure he already knew. “Mom is from the South Pole.” Being born only thirty years after the Hundred Year War, to that mix, had not done him any favors. “See, after that, Dad never used his firebending again. He told me I could never comprehend how much destruction and pain it could bring. But Mom wanted me to be born a bender, a waterbender.” 

“Wouldn't that be better?” Grey-Eyes had an odd, choked sound to his voice, but he wasn't crying.

“Dad's got these burns on his legs.” He continued. “They couldn't get the people to calm down, see, and this waterbender, she tried to kill him. Thought he was one of the bad guys. Ice burns like fire, you know.” Of course he knew, he was from the North Pole. “Dad says all bending is too much for one person to bear. That no one should ever hold that much power.” He'd agreed from a young age, when his father had explained. No one should be able to do that to another human being with just a snap of their fingers. “Mom though, she says if I had been blessed, the Southern Water Tribe would have accepted me.” 

Now Grey-Eyes scoffed, and he chuckled as well. “Your mother is either naïve, or an idiot.” 

“I think it's a little of both.” He agreed, smiling. “I don't want to be a bender. I don't want anyone to be a bender. That kind of power, it throws everything out of balance. Makes people like me look like we're less than, when we're not. Turns people into bullies. Into killers.” 

Grey-Eyes was looking at him, his eyes wide, and before he knew what was happening, the other man was on him, his hands back on the nape of his neck, his mouth pressed hard to his. Without questioning it, and really, this had been coming ever since the first night, he knew that now, he tugged him close, kissed him back. Grey-Eyes squirmed a lot too, which was not good for his self-control, so he figured that wasn't needed, and simply picked him, so he could drop him on the bed. 

He didn't ask before he grabbed the leg of the man's pants, and he didn't ask before he pulled them off, dropping them on the floor, even as he got the ties undone on his own. He never wore anything with metal on a job. No reason to give a metalbender an advantage. 

Naked, he climbed in with Grey-Eyes, pushing at the robe still on his shoulders impatiently. Grey-Eyes was no less eager, and how they didn't tear the damn thing, he didn't know, or care. All that mattered was finishing what he'd started last night, before someone so rudely drugged him. 

Oil was acquired from somewhere, he wasn't paying attention, too caught up in the way Grey-Eyes moaned when he bit his collarbone. The option clearly on the table now though, he grinned, only for Grey-Eyes to stop him, press his thumbs to the corners of his mouth, eyes sad again. 

“Don't make that face.” He ordered. 

Confused, he frowned. “What face?” 

“That smile they've taught you to wear, when you're pretending nothing hurts you.” Oh, that face. “Don't make that face with me.” 

“You're awfully pushy.” He meant it only as an observation, but it made Grey-Eyes scowl at him, right before he hooked a leg around his hips, and ideas, now his brain was off and running with ideas. “I kind of like that though.” He did too, if he was honest. No one ever tried to tell him what to do, so this was interesting. 

It only took a little prep, because no one had ever opened up so quickly under him. Grey-Eyes was either a pro, or he really trusted him enough to completely relax. He was pretty sure it was the latter, and that scared him a little. He wasn't sure how he felt about being trusted like that.

Grey-Eyes cried out when he entered him, a small sound that meant nothing except for the way it felt like someone had put a jolt of electricity down his spine. For some reason, he actually wanted to be a little careful, and not just because of his own injuries, so he started slow, but Grey-Eyes just kept making those noises, and urging him on, and he was only human, after all. 

The headboard of the bed was made of pine, he thought, cheap and usually the kinds of beds they furnished these places with. He had to be at least a little careful, as Grey-Eyes' nails dug into his back, or they were going to break the damn thing, the way it kept hitting the wall. Actually, he thought they might be in danger of breaking the whole damn bed. 

He heard it crack, at one point, and something a little more practical pointed out that maybe he should slow down, but Grey-Eyes was pleading with him, all, “Harder, please,” and who was he to say no to that voice? 

Thankfully, by the time Grey-Eyes tightened around him, his come hitting his chest, he was on edge, and he let himself follow quickly. The bed was still in one piece under them, as he pulled out, and stretched, his back a little sore from the hunched over position. His spine popped obligingly, even as his ribs twinged. 

Content, he laid down beside Grey-Eyes, the bed wide enough they could both stay without wanting to kill each other, as long as neither kicked. Stretched out like this though, he found something to complain about.

“Your bed is too short.”

“Or maybe you're too tall.”

“Impossible.” He refuted good-naturedly. “So, do I get a name now?” 

The silence that followed answered that. 

“Of course not.” He leaned over him, and kissed him again. “You have to save something for the wedding night, after all.” 

The bastard actually nudged him in his bruised ribs in revenge. 

He _really_ liked him.

-

The next time he went, Grey-Eyes had a whole stack of books and scrolls on the flow of chi, the Kyoshi Island warriors, some with pictures of people's insides, and ones he couldn't make heads or tails of. 

“Found your local library, I see?”

Grey-Eyes, over by the wash basin, jumped, startled. “I have a door. You could try knocking on it.”

“But where would the fun in that be?” He asked, before crossing the room, wrapping his arms around him without preamble. Grey-Eyes made that whimpering sound again when he bit him right at his jawline, tipping his head to the side to accommodate him. “I think you keep that window unlocked just in case I feel like dropping by.” 

“That's absurd.” 

“You didn't say it wasn't true.” 

Grey-Eyes just glared at him, but he got him back in bed, and this time, Grey-Eyes actually smiled at him after, so he figured he was right. 

That was when the door burst open, by way of fireball. 

He was up and off the bed in a second, tumbling over to his things. He got his pants back on quickly, and grabbed his kali sticks. Before the firebender had time to fire off another, he was on him, one in his side, another at his knees. But the man was pissed off, and he had only himself to blame. Stealing from the Triads had not been one of his smarter jobs, in retrospect. The man was back up, his hands aglow. 

“Isn't this cozy?” He asked, right before he burned one of his sticks to cinders. “The little viper rat has himself a nest.” He raised an eyebrow at Grey-Eyes, still on the bed, his eyes wide in shock. “And a mate.” 

Responding was stupid, and would waste time. He chose to attack again instead, using his remaining stick and hoping it would be enough. It wasn't, of course, fucking benders, and he crashed into the wall hard, definitely bruising some more ribs, only now the skin on his chest was bright pink and aching. 

Grey-Eyes. _Fuck._

He got back to his feet, pushing the pain aside, and went for him again, this time going down to the ground to sweep his feet out from under him. The bender was clearly expecting him to be down for the count, so the surprise was enough to take him down. He went for the head, but another burst of fire, the fucker could breathe fire, made him fall back, so he could keep his face. 

Something solid hit him in the side of his head, and he saw stars, as he fell to the side, striking his knee hard on the floor. 

“You don't steal from the Triads, viper rat,” He swore, but the killing blow never came. 

Instead, there was a low, “Don't you touch him,” and Grey-Eyes had taken the man down. Still stunned from the blow, he watched through disbelieving eyes as Grey-Eyes touched the man's forehead, and then he slumped over, unable to keep his eyes open. 

When he came to, his head was in Grey-Eyes lap, Grey-Eyes clothed again. He had to have been out for a minute, but oddly enough, his head felt fine. So did his chest. Less damage than he thought, then. Damn firebenders.

_Firebender._

“Where is he?” He asked, confused. Grey-Eyes lifted his chin towards the corner, where the firebender sat curled, knees to his chest, eyes wide in shock. He seemed completely out of it, his pupils dilated to almost black as he stared at nothing. “What did you do to him?”

Grey-Eyes did not look at him, as he spoke, his voice far away, detached. “The bender who destroyed my family had his bending removed by a spirit. His mind collapsed, without his connection to his bending. In the tundra, as I walked, the spirit visited me, and told me all would be well, before he touched my head. I've never told anyone this. I thought it was a hallucination. But when you said that people really could lose their bending, I wanted to see if it was true.”

The firebender in the corner groaned, and seemed to sob, his shoulders shaking. 

“The spirit blessed me, on that tundra. I gave me the power to change the world. To make things _equal_.” 

Still a bit muddled, he sat up, staring in wonder at the now powerless bender. “You took his bending,”

“Forever.” Grey-Eyes answered. “I severed the connection, with the spirit's power.”

Awed, he stared at him, unable to believe in this kind of power, in this kind of blessing. Yet, there was proof, right in front of him, wasn't there? He had taken the man's bending, and only the spirits or the Avatar could do that, and Grey-Eyes wasn't the Avatar.

For the first time in a long time, hope stirred in him.

“You could change the world.” He breathed. 

Grey-Eyes nodded, then extended his hand, for him to take. “Want to change it with me?”

He refused his hand, but only so he could cup his face, kiss him in answer. 

The other man half-laughed at that, half-sobbed, as though this were all too much for him. 

In the corner, the former firebender just outright sobbed. 

After he had his bearings back, and luckily, the guy must not have hit him as hard as he thought, because he felt no signs of a concussion, he hauled him to his feet, and out of the building. He paused over him, wondering what he should do. The man was Triad, after all, with connections, and blessings from the spirits or not, Triads were Triads. So he snapped his neck, and left him there. 

Call him crazy, but the guy almost seemed thankful for it.

In the room, Grey-Eyes was sitting on the bed now, only wearing his loose pants and robe, though it was tied now. He had a strange expression on his face, like he was confused, or torn. 

“You killed him.” He said, like he didn't know what to make of that.

“Loose ends.” He didn't feel like making a joke, or a sly remark, not when there was this feeling in his chest, as he gazed at him. “Safer this way.”

“You're right, of course.” He closed his grey eyes, as he joined him on the bed, pulling him into his arms, where he was safe. Well, maybe not safe, not really, not when he had this kind of power, but safer. And he seemed to need something to hold on to anyway. He didn't mind it being him. “I need a man like you, to help.”

“Already agreed.” 

Grey-Eyes smiled against his shoulder. “A kiss means yes then?” He lifted his head. “You asked me for a name. It's Amon.” _Amon_ , he rolled around in his mind. “What should I call you?”

“Whatever you like,” He answered, pressing a soft kiss to his neck. “You and me, we're going to raise an army, do you know? Bring equality to this whole city. You'll lead us all.”

“Does that make you my Lieutenant?”

He tilted his head up for a kiss in answer.


End file.
